


Project S

by Cloudsong (Hinata_Akiama)



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Multi, Pre-Slash, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-08 00:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4283151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinata_Akiama/pseuds/Cloudsong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hojo killed Vincent, Lucrecia took the world in her own hands. As the leader of Deepground, can she keep the visions of a broken future from happening?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Project S

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic stems from the idea of 'What would Sephiroth be if he'd had peers to grow up with?' so after three days of talking with my husband about the semantics, we ended up with a large over-arching story that tries to tie in a lot of the canon from FF7. I hope you guys enjoy!

A single black wing twitched faintly as a strong gust teased over the inky feathers, pinons brushing the ground as its owner looked over the latest area he and his Restrictor had been sent to. The small village was wiped off of the map, just burned out husks of former homes, playgrounds for children now silent save for the wind.

Slit pupils narrowed as dawn broke over the sea, the light forcing the tall man to bring up a hand and shield his eyes. The faint glow from his eyes dully reflected off the back of his glove, turning the skin where the leather had ended a pale green. A soft huff of breath left his lips, before they pursed and curled in enough for white teeth to bite into the tender flesh. He turned away from the sun, the wing melting away in a shower of feathers carried by the wind. The man headed back to the small camp he'd made last night while his Restrictor prowled the area, checking for threats to his Seraphim.

Now, the bitten lip curled into a soft grin as he entered the tent, the bare tips of his fingers teasing through a fluffy mass of blonde hair. "Cloud." The black-clad male murmured, brushing his fingers through Cloud's hair again. "Cloud, its dawn." He kept his voice low, knowing far better than to startle his partner.

Even that was enough to spook the compact male awake, and his hand immediately grabbed for the set of short-swords he kept next to his bed, set away from the rest of the Fusion swords in the night. Glowing blue eyes snapped open and the slender yet dense form darted into a low crouch, automatically placing himself between the opening of the tent and his Seraphim.

"Sephiroth." Cloud ground out, his gaze cutting to the other male, taking in the grin and warm green eyes. "It's not funny." He groused, setting down the blade he'd grabbed. His voice sounded rough, like he'd spent the night swallowing screams.

Sephiroth's hand curled, gliding the back of his fingers over Cloud's cheek. His concern was palpable, and it caused his brows to furrow and his eyes to sweep down Cloud's frame. "Did you not sleep well?"

"They were right. I don't know how he did it, but Rahab's moved into one of his former squad mates. Myst must have been killed by him, or something else is going on. The Dragon is one of the Seraphim." Cloud mumbled out, shifting to attach his short-swords to the sides of the Fusion Sword.

The taller of the two out and out cursed, biting out the words as he carded a finger through short bangs. "Rahab may not have been the strongest of us, but Myst was dedicated. Can you feel her?"

"No. I haven't since they were thrown into the Reactor."

"Thrown implies that Myst didn't know exactly what she was doing."

Cloud snarled and got to his feet, stalking from the tent, not caring that he was still in his sleeping clothes of a white linen shirt and loose militarian pants. He cut his way to the same cliff side that Sephiroth had been at just minutes before, arms crossed tightly over a slender chest.

Blue eyes drifted over the remnants of what used to be a bustling town, full of life, thoughts drifting over the loss of one of the seven Seraphim/Restrictor pairs. Myst proved unable to control the transformation that all Seraphim where capable of, and because of this, she'd made the ultimate sacrifice rather than sentence Rahab to the life of a mindless monster.

He thought back on their childhood, all fourteen of them working through their studies, and training together. It created a bond that each of them felt to their very souls, especially the Restrictors. Cloud rubbed a hand over his right bicep, silently cursing the fact that the Restrictors where the far more sensitive of the two groups.

Cloud twitched slightly as he felt Sephiroth come up behind him, and large hands resting on the hard bone and sinew of Cloud's shoulders. "I'm sorry." Sephiroth sighed out, turning his emerald eyes on his smaller friend.

"It's alright. We're here to do a job, not mope." Cloud growled softly, turning to look up at the silver-haired Seraphim. A small grin touched his lips for a second, his bare hand moving to brush some of Sephiroth's hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear. "You're so lazy. You didn't even braid your hair this morning."

"I prefer when you do it."

"Then you should have woken me earlier. We don't have time now."

"Well, it'll make the coming battles more interesting."

"I suppose." Cloud shrugged, brushing past Sephiroth as he moved to get dressed, pulling the white shirt and blue pants off smoothly. He shrugged into the zippered vest, buckling it close to his chest afterwards. Next where the soft blue pants, loose enough to provide him with plenty of movement, but not loose enough to let him get caught. Cloud bent to tug on heavy riding boots afterwards, tucking the pants into the mid-calf length leather. He snapped the buckles closed, before moving on to the gloves, the left settling just under his elbow, and the other ending at his wrist. Last was the single pauldron, with its corresponding armor that attached to the bottom of it, the whole ensemble covering from shoulder to elbow on his right arm, strapped tight to his bicep, providing enough protection to act as a shield.

Sephiroth had watched the whole brusque exchange of clothing with a steady gaze, reaching down to pick up the sheath for the Fusion Swords. It was a set of four heavy leather sleeves, which attached to the buckles on the vest and top of his pants. Sephiroth handed it over to Cloud when he was ready, giving his Restrictor a gentle smile. "Are you hungry?"

"No. I'll eat a ration bar as we drive down. You're always complaining about not getting to drive anyway."

"You're letting me drive the motorcycle?"

"Sure, why not." Cloud added dryly, snorting as he finished attaching the sheaths. He grabbed the fused swords and slipped them into the largest of the sheaths. "C'mon." He rumbled out, packing up the rest of the debris of their camp.

Sephiroth followed after him, packing their gear onto the motorcycle the two had shared in their long drive from Midgar. The town had been in the mountains, its closest friend the tiny village of Kalm. The Mythril Mines where nearby as well, and most of this place had worked the dangerous profession of mining the caves.

Now, there would never be another soul to inhabit this place, what with the dragon and other monsters that had invaded the former sheltered cove.  
Cloud sighed softly as he pulled on his goggles, adjusting them over his warm blue eyes, flicking his gaze to Sephiroth, whom was already astride their motorcycle and checking its gauges and adjusting the settings for his far larger frame. Cloud snagged a ration bar out of the small compartment on the side, before casually slinging himself down to sit behind his Seraphim, unwrapping the bar as Sephiroth got ready.

“Are you ready, Cloud?”

“Of course. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I stop having nightmares.” The blood, the screams, Myst darting around claws and a spiked tail, the wave of her hair as she darted down deeper into Deepground and the mad dash to the Reactor. . .

“Alright, I get your point.” Sephiroth sighed softly, snapping Cloud out of his dazed thoughts. He pushed back his hair once, kicking the motorcycle to life and roaring down the path and into the town proper. It wouldn’t be an easy or happy fight, but they couldn’t leave the dragon to destroy even more lives.


End file.
